Good Friday!

Good Friday

Christ was crucified before the foundation of the earth was laid; before humanity was made in GOD’s image. Revelation 13:8-10

GOD always makes a way for us to escape. 1 Corinthians 10:12-15

There were three men on crosses the Friday Christ was crucified, JESUS of Nazareth and two thieves. The two thieves deserved to be on the cross for their crimes but JESUS voluntarily went to the cross for all of humanities crimes (sins) against GOD.

One of the two thieves believed in JESUS enough to know that He was being crucified even though He was innocent so he asked JESUS to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. JESUS said, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” Not because he asked for forgiveness but because GOD had made a way of escape to all who believed in HIS plan of salvation as revealed in the Law and Prophets; and all Jews understood this.

Just a couple of hours after their deaths the high holy Sabbath started, that one thief was in Paradise when JESUS proclaimed liberty to the captives and led them into His Eternal Kingdom. The other thief was in hell with the rest of humanity who rejected GOD waiting for the Day of Judgment.

In both the verses listed above there is an admonition to pay attention, to see and hear in the Spirit not the flesh.

Remember in JESUS’ Revelation to John just before the passage about all in the earth will worship the dragon (satan) and the beast (anti-christ) except those whose names were “written in the Book Of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” In 12:11 He said that His servants “overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death.”

This is our escape from the greatest temptation that anyone will ever face; to receive or not receive the mark of the beast.

I have and most Christians believe and teach that according to 1 Corinthians 10:13 GOD will always allow us to escape (get away from or get out of) every temptation or bad situation that we get into. This is not what Paul is teaching here, he is teaching that we should avoid (read the first 12 verses of chapter 10) getting into being tempted; we should avoid those activities and people that cause us to be tempted.

We are not promised an escape from our deliberate or stupid behavior, we are promised an opportunity to avoid or resist temptation. In your Bible there is probably a gap between verse 13 and verses 14 and 15, but when Paul wrote his letter to the Church at Corinth there was not a pause in that thought. Verse 7 directly relates to verses 18-22, all from 10:1 thru 11:1 is a conversation about avoiding being tempted and living that out before others.

Many Christians are looking for the great escape, the rapture, so that they do not have to be tempted by the mark of the beast and the great tribulation. But the Bible teaches that it is after we find ourself in temptation that we cannot overcome that GOD rescues us, not before.

The best defense against temptation is to know the Word of GOD and to speak it just as JESUS did when satan was tempting Him in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting and prayer. When satan thinks we are weak and vulnerable that is when he will tempt us into eternal death and judgment. The way we overcome is by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony and not loving our lives over death.

On Good Friday JESUS died for us, those who rejected Him, laughed at Him and hated Him. Why? Because, we had already given in to the temptation to live after the flesh, to serve ourself over everyone else including GOD.

From the beginning GOD knew that humanity would sin and would need to be redeemed from that sin so He planned that He Himself in the form of man would come and pay the ultimate price a man could pay, His life, to redeem humanity from eternal damnation to eternal life in His Eternal Kingdom.

THAT WAS A GOOD FRIDAY!